Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto today fired a man he promoted to the rank of lieutenant just two years ago. The same man who previously made detective under Sheriff Newell Normand, but quit before he was fired 16 years ago amid a deputy drug dealing probe.
A news release says Aaron Verrette was arrested for allegedly driving drunk this morning.
"His employment was terminated following his arrest," Captain Jason Rivarde said in a news release. "Verrette was a 14-year JPSO veteran."
He has a checkered past.
"At around 9:20 this morning, First District deputies responded to a report of a man sleeping behind the wheel of a car in the 1700 block of Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie. Verrette initially drove away from units, and was stopped nearby."
Rivarde says the deputies took 51-year-old Verrette in for chemical testing.
"Verrette submitted to chemical testing, and his breath sample showed a reading of 0.155g%. He was arrested and transported to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center to be booked."
Verrette was in a personal vehicle.
He was promoted in 2024.
JPSO
WWL has learned he was previously a JPSO employee, but resigned while under investigation while a detective.
The probe was looking into allegations of some JPSO deputies.
He refused to cooperate with that investigation and quit before he was fired.
Verrette then went to work for then-Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, but also quit that job while under investigation.
A NOLA.com article in 2021 said at the time that Verrette had been accused of sexual harassment.
He returned to work for the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office after that. He had been employed there before his first stint with JPSO.
He went back to work for JPSO, under Sheriff Lopinto, in 2020.
His re-hiring sparked media questions and reaction from Metro Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche.
He said in 2021 that Verrette "would not have been hired by any law enforcement agency that did a background check on him.”
A bigger question... how did Verrette keep getting promotions at JPSO at a rate much faster than most move up the ranks? And, that happened despite a blemished past.
This is a developing story. Please watch for updates.
